The rumblings of an infectious virus had been festering for months, but it was something we'd heard countless times before.

A new virus. A far-flung city facing an outbreak. Something that would eventually blow over when the next world story emerged.

Like the story about the boy who cried wolf, many shrugged it off as fear-mongering or exaggeration. Until March 2020, when it became something that couldn't be dismissed.

For Katie St Clair, who was part of the Services Australia 2021 graduate intake, that month was when the pandemic really rocked her life.

"I actually lost my job when the shutdowns occurred," Ms St Clair said.

But her sudden unemployment inspired her to take a risk. She applied for the Service Australia's graduate program, and months later was offered the role.

It meant she had to relocate her whole family, including pets, from Queensland to the nation's capital, dodging possible disastrous outbreaks, resulting shutdowns and subsequent border closures.

"The family dynamics, and finding out that we had to relocate to Canberra ... everyone had varying levels of fear and dread and excitement," Ms St Clair said.

"All the planning paid off and I'm just happy to be here.

March was also a difficult month for Ludovica Celentano, another Services Australia graduate, who began in the "before times" in early 2020.

She had just visited her family in Italy - which faced its own major outbreak only weeks later - before returning back to Canberra to start a life in a new city. Then everything changed in an instant.

"In a month, everything happened," Ms Celentano said.

While she experienced a few weeks of the regular state of things, plans of interstate work visits and scheduled events quickly dissipated.

Like many public servants, Ms Celentano's year was disrupted by a deployment to Centrelink to assist with the surge in demand for income support services.

"It definitely changed my life and my experience in a way that I wasn't expecting, and it felt like a missed opportunity," Ms Celentano said.

"But at the same time, it felt like we gained so much more just being able to help people by being redeployed to Centrelink.

"We like to think that it's nice to help people in the offices, but actually being on the phone during the demand ... was just really a touching experience."

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While the first six months of distance from friends and family had an impact on her mental health, Ms Celentano said she has started to relish the Canberra lifestyle in recent months.

"I went to a club for the first time in a year a couple of weeks ago, and then I went to some sort of festival," Ms Celentano said.

"By posting a few videos on Instagram, I've [had] my friends from Italy and some friends from the UK just message me and say, 'Are you allowed to do that?'"

The past 12 months have been tough on many Australians, but Ms Celentano said she felt it was all a part of the learning experience.

"I definitely learnt that I'm more resilient than I give myself credit for," Ms Celentano said.

"I was able to just shift jobs in a second and see the positive side of that."

While only a few weeks into the program, Ms St Clair said the big move was a good reminder that age wasn't a barrier to following your dreams.

"In your late 30s you can be a graduate, you can go and do a university degree, you can go and work towards building a career later in life," Ms St Clair said.

"You don't have to be a 20-something and [go] straight out of high school into uni, you can do a few different things different ways and still achieve your dreams.

"I say 'bring it on'. I'll do whatever is within my capabilities, and I'll learn what I don't know."